In a society that is consistently fixated on our nation's expenditures, the topic of the death penalty is often brought to attention. Depending on whether or not an individual is a supporter of the death penalty, the fact that both sides have contradicting ideas and facts regarding the costs of executing inmates on death row, has become one of the numerous heavily debated subjects for many years.
After researching several discrepancies regarding the death penalty, the idea of being against capital punishment has been embedded in my mind as being the most efficient solution, from an economical standpoint. In years past, it has been said that executing an individual on death row is a more contemptible termination to an inmate’s life. Research done in Texas, (the state with the highest number of executions) has shown that executions have cost the state more money as opposed to confining an inmate for life.
According to BalancedPolitics.org, other costs that pertain to executing inmates consist of 1) “cruel and unusual punishment” 2) Appeals and other procedures involved with an inmate on death row, congest the court system even further, 3) Wrong Message: Showing people that killing is wrong by killing people who kill people, 4) Life in prison is more of a punishment and a more effective deterrent, 5) The possibility of innocent men and women being put to death exists.
Several other facts suggest that capital punishment should be abolished but the main idea is that the death penalty costs taxpayers several times the amount of that of life imprisonment. It may be easy for one to assume that life imprisonment would cost the state’s taxpayers more due to the amount of resources given to death row inmates, but the truth is, court procedures and appeals cost taxpayers more due to the fact that courtroom workgroups are very costly.
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